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Edmonton forward Ryan Jones (28) fights Vancouver defenceman Kevin Bieksa (3) as the Edmonton Oilers play the Vancouver Canucks during the first period of a NHL hockey game at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alta., on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. Ian Kucerak/Edmonton Sun/QMI Agency

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Heading into their contest against the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, the Canucks had won just two of their previous 10 games.

Their coach is currently serving a suspension for trying to invade the Calgary Flames locker room on Saturday and their captain is out of the lineup for the first time in 10 years.

All the while, the club appears to be going though an identity shift as they try to shake off the stigma they are not heavy or tough enough.

“I’m looking forward to putting all this behind us and moving on,” said Canucks assistant coach Mike Sullivan, taking over from the suspended John Tortorella. “I think our players have a pretty good understand is of what our team identity is and how we want to play and making sure that we pay attention to the details that help our team have success.

“We’ve got to get back to that consistency of effort, night in and night out, that brought us results earlier. We’ve gone through a little bit of a stretch here where we’ve struggled and we need to get back to that consistency of play.”

The Canucks were in a downward spiral before the Flames went into Vancouver Saturday and picked a fight.

Flames head coach Bob Hartley started his fourth line in the contest, forcing Tortorella to counter with his muscle, which he wasn’t too happy about.

A line brawl ensued resulting in eight ejections.

Tortorella blew his lid and when Hartley ignored him the Canucks head coach, like a petulant child, went after his counterpart between periods and stormed the Flames dressing room.

On Monday Tortorella was assessed a 15-day suspension without pay by the league for his actions. Hartley was fined $25,000 for his player selection to start the game. In total, Tortorella will miss six games, leaving Sullivan in charge.

“As far as I know, there is no contact (from Tortorella) in and around the arena as long as the players are around,” Sullivan said. “I’m not exactly sure what all the criteria is. But whatever it is, we will live with and we will abide by.”

Compounding the Canucks’ problems is having captain Henrik Sedin out of the lineup for the first time in nearly a decade.

Sedin’s 679 consecutive-game streak came to an end Tuesday, forced to miss the contest against the Oilers with a rib injury.

Sedin had not missed a game since March, 2004. His brother Daniel is the only member of the Canucks who knows what it’s like to play without him in the lineup.

“It’s going to be a test for our club, but when things like this happen, you show what kind of team you are,” said Daniel Sedin. “We need points to get into the playoffs. If we play bad just because the coach is away, that won’t be good.”

Daniel Sedin, knows what it’s like to be out of the lineup, having missed 10 games during the 2011-2012 season and 19 game two years previous to that.

At the time of his first injury, questions arose whether his brother would be as effective without the other twin in the lineup. Henrik proved he could be.

This is an opportunity for Daniel to show he can do the same.

“We’ve played together for so long, I look at this as a good test,” Daniel Sedin said. “We have good players on this team, so that shouldn’t really matter.

“When you miss a guy like that, other guys have to step up and I’m one of those guys, that’s how I’m going to look at it.”

Going nearly 10 years without missing a game is an impressive accomplishment for Henrik Sedin, who has had to endure plenty of punishment from opponents during that time.

Eventually it was a crosscheck to his midsection that took him out of commission.

“It’s amazing how long the streak has lasted,” said Canucks defenceman Kevin Bieksa. “He doesn’t get credit for how tough he is, as well as Danny, and how many times they come in after games and they have ice-bags all over them from getting cross-checked and whacked and slashed.

“They play through a lot of a pain and they deserve a lot of credit for that.”